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Perfect ARKS (Episode Oracle)
250px |episode number = 3 |JP Air Date = October 21, 2019 |USA Air Date = October 21, 2019 |opening theme = Destiny |ending theme = Timeless Fortune |previous episode title = Eerie Naverius (Episode Oracle) |next episode title = The Starting Weapon (Episode Oracle) }} Perfect ARKS is the third episode of the Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode Oracle series. It aired on October 21, 2019 on Japanese television networks, and was simulcast by Funimation with English subtitles on the same day for the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland audiences. Plot 'Chat by the Campfire' Ash and Afin continue their discussion as they sit by the campfire on a tranquil starry night on the planet Naverius. Nearby, Matoi is already passed out. Ash reveals that his first memory is of when he was a boy being taken to an orphanage by a woman. Besides that, he cannot remember any details nor answer the whys, wheres or what he was doing at that time back then. Hearing this, Afin has the realization that that was the reason Ash cryptically stated he wanted to join ARKS to find out who he was when they first met, and at that time Ash was reluctant to even divulge something as simple as his own name. The newman tells his partner that he is happy that they are finally talking now. The two share a chuckle and eventually turn in for the night. In the wee hours of the morning, Matoi stirs. She has a dream in which she sees the frozen icecaps in the distance under Naverius' great moon. Further beyond the snow-capped wastelands, there is an ominous tower creeping over the horizon. There appear to be many runes decorating the structure's surface as it glows a saturated gradient of purple and red. Its spire is root-like, resembling a tree with the stars in the night sky acting as its leaves... 'Battle Against Dark Ragne' Bright and early in the morning, Afin is the first of the trio to wake. Answering nature's call, he begins to relieve himself by a tree when suddenly a commotion shakes the land. The thunderous roar wakes Ash, who immediately runs off to investigate. He bids Afin to watch over Matoi, who is unfazed and still sleeping on her makeshift bed. In the ensuing chaos, Afin haphazardly zips his fly and pinches himself in the process, slowing him down and making it impossible for him to even hope to catch up or follow Ash. As he approaches the cliffside, Ash looks out and sees smoke rising from the forest ahead. He jumps down to get a better view from a closer rocky ledge. There is a young girl launching fire techniques at an army of dagans that are attempting to swarm, but the continuous blasts force them into a defensive formation. Wanting to help, he is stopped when a voice urges him to reconsider getting too close. Sitting on a branch of the tree behind him, a young woman with long gray hair tied back into a ponytail appears to be enjoying the view. Ash asks her if she is apart of the ARKS. The woman answers, "Well, something like that," and then tells him, "Look, it's starting." A giant spider-like creature named Dark Ragne effortlessly snaps full-grown trees in half with its sharp front legs and swipes at the girl on the ground below, but she dodges the strike with grace. Ash, in his fierce determination to aid this girl, ignores the gray-haired woman's pleas to not become involved and jumps from the ledge into the forest. Standing her ground confidently, the girl launches another powerful fire blast onto the creature when Ash jumps from the cover of the trees. Armed with his Coat Edge, he slices the monster's appendages, causing its blood to gush out. Although initially stunned by the sight of a random hunter, the girl becomes infuriated that he is stealing her kill. Ash ignores her whining and continues to fight, however, he is blown away when, in her anger, she hurls numerous explosive blasts onto the field every which way that also kills several of the smaller dagans. In the distance, the gray-haired woman from earlier mumbles to herself that she knew this would happen and runs off. The girl launches one last rafoie nuke onto Dark Ragne's core, causing it to burst. The creature ushers out one final screech before it lands on its back, dead and disintegrating into a mass of F-Factor particles. 'Meet Klariskrays, the Boastful yet Powerful Force' With the battle now over, the young girl decides to engage the inconsiderate jerk that attempted to steal her prey. She walks over to Ash, who is reeling from the friendly fire, and demands answers. Ash asks in frustration what her problem is since he was just trying to help someone surrounded by falspawn, creatures who have thus far proven themselves to be deadly forces to be reckoned with. The young girl pauses, incredulous at what she is hearing, and then bursts into a fit of laughter that someone like him thought he could help her. The bubbly red-head introduces herself as Klariskrays, a "super strong and important" person that has been eradicating falspawn in order to make life easier for ARKS such as Ash. Skittering toward him, she excitedly asks if he understands how awesome she is. Ash mutters an uneasy sure which appeases her. Taking a step back, Klariskrays admits to Ash that she is holding her power back because if she did not, she and her Clarissa would create a hole in the very planet itself. Sensing that he is not convinced, Klariskrays decides that, "It's time to give you a full explanation of just how amazing I really am!" Ash stares at her, bemused of what he just got himself into with this girl. 'The Council of Six' Later, Ash is by himself, walking in the lush forest in disbelief that he had to suffer a barrage of gloating from some girl he just met. From out of nowhere, Pati and Tia commend the hunter for withstanding Klariskrays' endless bragging and the three find a place to relax and chat. Today's topic is the Council of Six, the six most powerful members of the ARKS. Pati informs Ash that Klariskrays is among the Council of Six's ranks, and for good reason considering her show of power in the fight against Dark Ragne and the falspawn army. Tia continues, saying that the Council of Six battled against Dark Falz, ARKS' greatest enemy and the ones responsible for creating falspawn, in the past. This information is well-known and taught to ARKS in class. However, what is not widely known is that the Council of Six fought Dark Falz 40 years ago on this very planet, Naverius. In the past, ARKS fought against Dark Falz on Naverius but the fight took its toll with great sacrifice. It was not until the Council of Six lended their power that they finally defeated him. In a matter of speaking, the Council of Six could be seen as the perfect ARKS, heroes of justice. Pati tells Ash to take the story as something to strive for since he is also a member of ARKS. Drifting into a tangent, Pati begins to mention that several ARKS have gone missing in the area lately. Tia interrupts her, strongly implying that what she was saying was confidential. In panic, Pati runs off in the wrong direction to their mission. Tia thanks Ash for listening and bids him farewell before happily chasing after her rambunctious older sister. 'The Search for Matoi' Ash sighs, alone once more, when suddenly he is alerted to a message from Afin. His newman companion tells him that Matoi has gone missing. When he makes it back to camp, Afin tells him that she disappeared when he looked away briefly. Ash urges him to calm down, then brings up his handheld and attempts to radio Matoi. The reception is full of static and there is no visual. Taking lead, Ash tells Afin that they will have to split up and search for her on their own to cover more ground. Elsewhere in the forest, a group of ARKS are walking in stupor into a sea of mist. Among them is Matoi. One of them suddenly collapses to the ground with drool spilling across his wide open mouth, but no words come out. He shudders for a bit before becoming still. The mob ignores him, continuing on their journey in a zombie-like trance and then disappear. Ash is running in the forest and finds cover behind a tree when he hears a growl. He looks out and sees a giant striped beast known as Fang Banther walking aimlessly. As it approaches the tree, it catches a scent. Sniffing the air, it looks around briefly before losing interest and continuing on its way, causing the earth to shake with each step. Ash uses this as an opportunity to escape and continues his search in haste. In another part of the wood, Afin overhears a conversation between two hunters that have lost a member of their group. He runs up to them and asks if they have seen Matoi. Alarmed, they reveal that they and another party they have spoken to also have people that have gone missing. In the chilling silence following this revelation, they are alerted by an emergency notice that informs them that abnormal fluctuations have been detected on Naverius and all ARKS in the area are to return to the ship immediately. The two hunters before Afin decide to withdraw without their comrade, leaving the newman youth baffled and alone. Still finding the energy to jog, Ash stops when he notices the snow falling from the sky. Taking a few steps forward, he is amazed to find that the lush forest immediately turns into a frozen snow white tundra. On the snow, he sees several footprints. Ash radios Afin the news, who in turns tells Ash that other ARKS have also gone missing. Having a bad feeling, Ash implores Afin that they must hurry and follows the trail ahead. 'Called' Elsewhere, Gettemhult and Melfonseana have dispatched a number of dagan falspawn when they catch the sight of a wanderer in the snow. The person walks a few feet before collapsing face first. Approaching the body, Gettemhult nudges him with his foot to turn him over and discovers that he is dead, blood soaking his lower lip with an expression of agony forever etched on his face. Melfonseana observes the body but cannot find any external wound, wondering if the death was a result of the F-Factor. Answering a call, she then informs Gettemhult that they have orders to return. Gettemhult grunts and then notices Ash running in the distance. Greeting him from a snow-capped hill, Gettemhult asks Ash what business he has in this part of Naverius, taunting him about the death of Kohana. Ash ignores the venomous comments and plainly states that he is looking for someone. He then asks if they have seen Matoi, whom they had met previously when they were with Kohana. Melfonseana unfortunately tells him that they have not seen any women lately. Gettemhult laughs, matter-of-factly stating that it appears that the missing ARKS seem to be "called," as evidenced by the dark sensation plaguing the area potentially alluding to the abnormal fluctuations the emergency alert mentioned. As Ash tries to run forward, Gettemhult blurts out that she may already be dead like the others. Ash then stops, glares at Gettemhult, and wordlessly continues his search in haste. In another part of the tundra, the gray-haired woman knocks out one of the wandering ARKS and brings her to a cave. She lays the person down next to the rest of them, all of which are still alive and warmed by the campfire, and is glad that she saved them in time. Ash eagerly continues his search in the tundra. The weather has now turned into a rough snowstorm. Undeterred, he continues walking when he stumbles upon a barrette in the snow that Matoi was wearing in her hair. Worried, he begins to yell her name. Elsewhere, Matoi is walking when she suddenly comes to her senses upon hearing Ash's pleas. A camouflaged form that was watching her also hears his cries and disappears. She looks around and finds herself in a sort of ruin-like area with no recollection of how she got there. Having just woken from her trance, Matoi stumbles in the direction of Ash's voice and sees him wandering in a snowy wasteland. Before her is a mysterious barrier that separates the areas from each other and also makes it to where he cannot see her. She calls out to him and finds out that he can hear her, with his voice becoming more distressed now that he figures he is close. Confused, she tells him that she is right there and then crosses the boundary into the tundra, standing before him. To Ash, it appeared as if Matoi had just appeared out of thin air. Shrugging away the strange occurrence, Ash smiles and tells Matoi that he is glad that she is safe. He gives Matoi her barrette back and radios Afin. Using the visual, he tells Afin that Matoi has been found and the newman sighs with relief. Matoi tells him that she is sorry for making them worry. Ash then sends Afin their coordinates so they can regroup at the tundra's summit. When the call ends, Ash asks Matoi why she has come to this place. She reveals that she felt as if someone was calling her, and by the time she came to her senses, she was already here. She then takes Ash's hand and brings him through the barrier between realms. As Afin is about to approach them, they suddenly disappear before his eyes. 'The Facade Collapses' The skies are clear in the ruinscape, and now before the two stands an ancient monument. Behind it is another structure that glows radiantly, the base of which is enveloped by a rock-like substance. Ash looks around, wondering where they are. Matoi looks upon the monument with awe, feeling a dark sensation calling to her. Entranced, she begins to walk toward the structure when a cast drives her arm into Matoi's back, causing her to faint. Shocked and angered, Ash attempts to arm himself with his sword but the cast is swifter. She immediately draws a partisan and aims it at his neck, calmly informing Ash that she simply knocked Matoi out and commands him to put down his weapon. Ash asks who she is, but she returns the question back to him. Seeing that he cannot fight her, he withdraws his weapon while she asks under whose authority were they sent here. Ash tells her that they were not ordered here, but merely stumbled upon this place. Unsatisfied, she tells him that it is impossible that they came here by chance and that this place is strictly off-limits. Suddenly a woman yells out to her, telling the cast, whose name is Maria, that she put all the people that were coming here to sleep. Ash turns around to find that it is the gray-haired woman from earlier. When their eyes lock, she is as surprised to see him as he is her. Maria tells this woman, whose name is Sarah, good work but two managed to make it through, alluding to Ash and Matoi's presence. Sarah, in good humor, asks her how she could have predicted that they would get past the cloaking and is glad that Ash was able to survive Klariskrays' fiery personality. She tells Maria that he did not seem to already be acquainted with Klariskrays and figures he is just a meddling type of person, but in a good way. Maria hears this and calms down, saying that she thought that "he was some ARKS on the other side." Maria walks over and gently picks up the sound asleep Matoi. She then looks at Ash and informs him that the only reason that they made it to this place was because "he entranced you and led you here." She then diverts her gaze to the base of the glowing monument. Ash looks and sees to his horror that the rocky substance is actually made up of formerly alive people, frozen in time in desperate efforts to touch the structure. Maria tells Ash that this is a grave monument that marks the battle against Dark Falz 40 years ago which was a turning point for the ARKS. Although the tales speak of the Council of Six defeating Dark Falz, in truth, they were unable to completely defeat him and could only find the power to seal him. To this day, Dark Falz continues calling to ARKS. Those that answer the call inevitably end up being consumed until the day that he is finally revived. Ash listens and demands to know why the ARKS refuse to tell the public the truth. Maria gravely answers that it is because the facade of the perfect ARKS is collapsing. Ash repeats this line while staring at the monument, a structure which towers over the group menacingly. Gallery : ''The Phantasy Star wiki has an extensive image gallery for this episode. '' Category:Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode Oracle